Author: Xolmominov, Jafar Muhammadievich; Shermataliev, Omonullo.

Annotation: Nafs is the material “I” (ego) of a person. The literal meaning of the word nafs is the existence, reality, nature and identity of something. The word "nafs" is used in different meanings, sometimes reflecting conflicting meanings. For example, one group of Sufi scholars explain “nafs” as “spirit”, another group as “soul”, a third group as “kindness”, “sincerity”, and a fourth group as “body”, “blood”. According to Sufis, nafs is the source of all evil, the source of sins. According to the conclusion of one group of Sufis, nafs is the primary source of all sins, and according to the views of the second category, it is the cause of such vices as arrogance, envy, anger, and enmity. If sins are cleansed by repentance, bad habits are destroyed by self-torture, that is, torture. For Sufis, the fight against nafs is considered the perfection of all prayers. In this sense, the hadith “He who knows his nafs (soul) knows his Lord” served as the basis of the Sufi theory about nafs. This article briefly analyzes and philosophically and mystically interprets the concept of “Nafs” in Sufism and the philosophy of Irfan.

Keywords: Sufism (tasawwuf), Irfan philosophy, nafs (self; ego), the concept of “nafs”, education of nafs, knowledge of nafs, hermeneutical interpretation.

Pages in journal: 54 - 63